A second Nikola electric semi-truck caught fire during tests to determine the cause of another blaze
Nikola
- A Nikola electric semi-truck caught fire during a battery test outside its Phoenix headquarters.
- It comes after another Nikola Tre truck caught alight this week in Tempe, Arizona.
- Nikola recalled about 209 trucks and suspended sales following two battery fires in June.
A Nikola electric semi-truck caught fire in a "thermal incident" near its headquarters in Phoenix on Friday.
The electric vehicle maker was testing why a battery pack on another of its trucks caught fire this week when the incident occurred.
The semi-truck was undergoing a "battery fire investigation and testing" when it caught alight in its second fire incident this week, the company told Bloomberg in an email.
In the first fire, a Tre battery-electric vehicle caught alight in Tempe, Arizona, Reuters reported. No one was injured in either incident.
It comes after two battery fires on its trucks in June that prompted the company to recall about 209 trucks in August and suspend sales. A coolant leak inside a battery pack was identified as a probable cause of the June fire, an external investigator found.
Nikola shares have fallen about 55% since the August recall and closed on Friday at 88 cents, valuing the company at about $750 million. The stock peaked in 2020 at almost $66.
Steve Girsky, who took over as CEO after Michael Lohscheller stepped down on August 31, is set to speak in a fireside chat with investors on Wednesday.
Girsky has been chairman since 2020 after he led the special-purpose acquisition company, VectoIQ, that merged with Nikola to become a listed company, per The Wall Street Journal.
He had been at General Motors for almost five years in various roles, including vice chairman, its website states.
Nikola didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider, made outside normal working hours.